Chapter 14: Too Many Boys

Ginny woke up, sweat dripping from her face with her heart beating crazy fast. Images of the night before flooded through her head, and her heart pained as she remembered Draco's lips on her own.

Robotically, she got dressed and attended her classes, not aware of anyone or anything.

"Ginny?" A voice called.

"Ginny?"

No answer.

"GINNY?"

Ginny whipped around, looking for whoever called her name. She found Dani sitting down right next to her giving her a worried look.

"Huh?" Ginny asked quickly.

"Well," Dani began, "you've been acting rather odd today."

"Really?" Ginny asked, stuffing some food into her mouth. "I haven't noticed."

"You may not have noticed, but everyone else has."

It was lunch time, and Dani had finally decided to say something to Ginny. She knew that Ginny had gone to detention the other night with Draco, and she was sure that last night had something to do with Ginny's odd mood.

"I'm fine," Ginny assured her. "Really."

She hated when Dani did this to her. Of course she loved her best friend, but Ginny and Dani were very opposite in nature. Dani was a naturally happy person, bubbly and charismatic all of the time, but Ginny had gone through so much in her life that she couldn't be that way.

Dani just couldn't understand why Ginny wasn't always happy like her, and it was hard for Ginny to always fake happiness. Sometimes she was just really sad, and she wished she could talk to Dani about it, but she knew the girl would never understand. Ginny wasn't perfect. Didn't Dani realize that?

"Alright, whatever you say, Gin."

But Ginny wasn't really listening. She had just noticed a certain blonde haired Slytherin entering the Great Hall. She watched him glance over in her direction and make his way determinedly towards her.

"Err," Ginny said hastily, swallowing the last bit of her lunch. "I really have to go, Dani." Ginny grabbed her book bag and started walking in the other direction. "I'll see you later!" she called over her shoulder.

With that, Ginny left through a side door of the Great Hall, and soon after, Dani saw Draco Malfoy walk past her and out the very same door.

Uh oh, she thought. This can't be good.

Ginny ran from the Great Hall, afraid to look back and see Draco following her. As she hurried up to her room, she momentarily considered ditching class but stopped herself immediately. She had already missed way too much school, especially because this year was incredibly crucial for her. In fact, she was surprised that she hadn't received a letter from either her teachers or Dumbledore asking her where she was all the time.

Ginny watched the clock in the Gryffindor common room with a sickening feeling; she needed to leave any moment in order to get to her charms class on time. With a deep breath, Ginny slung her book bag over her shoulder and made her way down the intricate staircases of Hogwarts.

She arrived at class just in time, hurrying in only right before Flitwick. She sat at her table with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, ignoring the stare she was getting from Draco. Goodness! Couldn't he just leave her alone?

"How's it going, Gin?" Harry asked her sweetly, staring deep into her beautiful eyes. Ginny gave him a quick smile.

"Fine," was all she said.

They began their healing lesson for the day, diving deep into the specifics about fractured and broken bones. Ginny tried to listen as Flitwick explained that some bones were easier to fix than others, but a pair of steely-grey eyes were staring at her.

She groaned quietly.

Hermione, who was sitting directly to her side, gave her a questioning look.

"Is everything okay, Gin?"

Ginny gave her a fleeting glance and turned away, but for that one moment, Hermione could tell that something definitely wasn't okay. The bushy haired brunette continued to watch Ginny the entire hour, noticing how her eyes darted to the other side of the room where Malfoy was.

A few times, when Hermione looked in the same direction, she saw Draco Malfoy staring directly at Ginny, his eyes unwavering. Class ended abruptly, and Hermione noticed how Ginny packed her things in a dash, noticing how Malfoy was packing his things equally as fast, keeping one eye on Ginny and one eye on what he was doing. Before Ginny could leave, however, Professor Flitwick called her back.

"Miss Weasley?" He called out to her right as she headed out the door.

Ginny cringed, and with a deep sigh, she turned around and went straight to his desk.

"I'll talk to you later, Gin," Hermione said. "Okay?"

Ginny gave her a worried glance but nodded. What's wrong with me? It's only Malfoy. But that was the thing: it was Malfoy. Draco Malfoy, the person so many of her dreams circled around, the person she still thought about unconsciously…the person who still held her heart.

She saw Draco pack the rest of his things slowly and walk to the door as if someone had cursed him with a Snail Slow jinx. Luckily, Flitwick waited until he was out of the room to continue.

"As I was saying," Flitwick began, watching Draco's retreating back. "It's been awhile since you last came to update me on your progress."

Ginny felt her stomach drop. She'd already seen Flitwick twice before, and this was the third list she'd gotten to learn. All the extra work was taking a toll on her, yes, but she didn't want to give up the advanced class. However, she hadn't exactly found time to finish this third list he'd given to her.

She looked away uneasily, but her professor wasn't about to let her off the hook that easily.

"I've nearly got it all down," Ginny muttered hesitantly. This was slightly stretching the truth.

"Show me."

She looked up at Flitwick in disdain. Great, Ginevra, Ginny scolded herself. Now he'll see what a big, fat liar you are. She didn't have a choice though. Reluctantly, Ginny pulled out the parchment from her book bag. It was hardly creased, a dead giveaway that she hadn't looked at it much.

Her professor waited patiently for her to begin, so Ginny whipped out her wand and went straight through the first ten of thirty spells. Those were the easy ones. After she finished the last spell she knew, Ginny looked down at the other foreign spells and took a deep breath. She struggled through the rest of them a little, normally messing up on the first and second tries but completing them soon enough. She would give a quick glance to Flitwick, but he said nothing.

Finally, Ginny finished, a slight smile tugging at her lips; she knew it could've gone a lot worse. When she looked at her professor, he gave her a small smile.

"You are very talented, Ginny," he said, forgetting pretenses. "However, I would prefer that you didn't rest on your natural abilities to scrape through this class."

Ginny blushed but didn't say anything.

"Next time," Flitwick said, "be ready and know the spells that I give you."

"Sorry," she mumbled, but he only waved it away with his hand.

Flitwick pulled out another list and gave it to her before scuttling out of the room. Ginny sighed but took the list anyway, realizing that this would mean spending the next couple of weeks in the library or the common room, trying to perfect the spells. Next time she saw Flitwick, Ginny decided, she'd know all the spells by heart, performing them without even having to glance down at the list.

It was late in the common room, but when Ginny walked in, someone was waiting for her. At first, Ginny's heart leapt, but, luckily it was only Hermione.

"Hey Hermione," Ginny said quietly.

"Hey Gin."

Ginny walked slowly over to where Hermione was sitting and sat down right next to her, laying her head on the girl's shoulder.

"Do you want to talk?" Hermione asked tentatively. She was always unsure when it came to Ginny; sometimes the girl wanted to spill and other times she'd rather keep everything to herself.

With a deep breath, Ginny began to explain everything to Hermione about her situation with Draco, something she'd never be able to do with Dani.

"Do you still like him, Ginny?"

Ginny groaned and closed her eyes, trying to forget.

"I don't know, Hermione," she whispered. "Everything about him drives me crazy…everything. When he stares at me, follows me, and even ignores me, it all drives me crazy! I can't figure out what I want. Sometimes I'm happy when he just leaves me alone but other times it hurts more than anything!"

"What should I do?" Ginny asked after a moment of quietness.

"I can't tell you what to do," Hermione replied sadly. "This is your life Ginny. I know that too many times you've done things on behalf of your family and friends or for what you thought other people wanted from you, but you need to do something for you."

Hermione's words rang in her ears as Ginny remembered all those days wasted, trying to please her parents and brothers. What had that ever gotten her? Maybe she should do something for herself…but what did she want? Ginny voiced this problem.

"That's the hard part. I have no idea what I want."

Ginny sighed and snuggled deeper into Hermione's embrace.

"Alright," Hermione said, all sophisticated and businesslike. "Let's analyze the situation. You're with Derek now, aren't you?"

"Oh man!" Ginny groaned again. In the last twenty four hours, Derek had been the farthest person from her mind. After a while, Ginny answered honestly.

"I do like him," she mumbled, "but the bad part is that I like Draco ten times more. When I'm with Derek, it's nothing compared to how it was with Draco."

She sighed wistfully, touching her lips and neck, remembering the path that Draco's lips had traced last night in the Room of Requirement. The memory sent tingles down her spine, and she closed her eyes, trying to hold onto the bittersweet memory.

"So you like Derek," Hermione stated, trying to keep up, "but you like Draco more?"

Ginny nodded weakly.

"Then doesn't that mean that you should be with the person you like more?" Hermione questioned slowly, watching and waiting for a reaction.

"That would seem like the logical choice, wouldn't it?" Ginny's voice was lazy and sad, like she thought the same thing plenty of times before.

"But…" Hermione stated, knowing Ginny would have some kind of excuse.

"But," Ginny continued, "everything with Draco is messy and confusing. With Derek, things are plain and simple. With Derek, everything's safe."

Hermione looked down at Ginny sadly, hardly believing what the red head was saying. Derek was the safe choice? Come on! Love wasn't supposed to be about safety or simplicity! Love was supposed to be complicated, a swirling mass of emotions and feelings that twirled intricately together. Love was supposed to be a deep and burning passion—certainly nothing boring or mundane!

But Hermione didn't say any of that. This decision was for Ginny and Ginny alone.

"If you feel more comfortable with Derek," Hermione stated after several minutes of thought, "then maybe that's your choice."

Ginny sighed wearily, knowing that Hermione didn't believer her own words, but that's what Ginny would have to do. Even though things with Draco sometimes felt so good, they also felt so bad. Her heart ached and pained uncontrollably, and she hated it! At least with Derek she'd be okay. It wouldn't be excellent, but it'd be okay.

Ginny got up slowly, making her way to her dormitory.

"Remember, Ginny," Hermione called out to her, "that no one can make this decision but you. Think about it a little more. What do you really want?"

Hermione couldn't believe herself, but she was actually hoping that Ginny would choose Draco. Hermione wanted to do all she could to help out, deciding that for the next few weeks she'd try to make Harry and Ron see some good in Draco Malfoy. Maybe if things were less "messy" between Ginny and Draco, meaning if their families didn't get in the way, then things might work out.

Hermione fell asleep to feelings of hope and optimism.

Time flew by.

Draco tried without success to even talk to Ginny. Suddenly, she became the master of flight, disappearing whenever he got close enough to catch her. It was maddening. Draco told Blaise this late one night.

"I can't stand it!" Draco almost shouted. "I'm trying to tell this girl I like her, and she goes all AWOL on me!"

He collapsed dramatically in one of the chairs in the Head Boy room. Blaise only raised his eyebrows with curiosity; it still marveled him that someone could get Draco this worked up. Man, Blaise thought, that Weasley must have some hold on his heart.

"Don't give up, mate," was all Blaise could say. "I mean, you're sure to catch her sooner or later. We are on the same team for The 10 Challenges after all."

Draco only sighed in frustration. The last challenge had been the 4 Course event. Contrary to the many rumors that insisted that the 4 Course challenge was going to be an eating contest to see which team could eat four complete courses the quickest, it was actually like a muggle game show. The teams were challenged on their knowledge of four of the courses taken at Hogwarts: charms, potions, defense against the dark arts, and transfiguration.

Ginny, Lisa, and Draco had racked in the pointes for their team on that challenge, finishing second behind Brains and Beauty again. This time Draco was sure to keep his mouth closed even though he was pissed that they hadn't won. Blaise helped out only a little, but that loser Derek Wydell and Lavender held their team back when they both answered most of their questions wrong. It drove Draco crazy, but Ginny only comforted the pair of them, knowing they felt awful already.

Seeing Ginny comfort them was the only thing that kept Draco from bursting; he hated to lose.

Brains and Beauty, a team made up entirely of Slytherins and Ravenclaws was still sitting in first with a good lead of five points. Their team was tied in second with the Winning Wizards, a fact that bugged Draco more than anything. He hated not beating Potter and his gang; it frustrated him to no end.

"Draco?"

Blaise's voice pulled him back to earth.

"It's just frustrating," Draco pointed out. "I'm Draco Malfoy! I don't normally go chasing after girls! They're the ones who are supposed to chase after me."

"Well is she worth it?" Blaise asked, knowing this would reassure his friend. Draco Malfoy sighed.

"Yes, yes she is."

February was nearing its end, and the sixth and seventh years had completed two more challenges over the past months. By then, three teams stood out as the main contenders for the grand prize.

In first, for the moment, was Vincitori, having beaten Brains and Beauty on the last two challenges. Brains and Beauty was trailing in second but only by a few points, and the Winning Wizards were right behind them in third.

The other teams weren't completely out of the competition, but they felt disheartened when they remembered how the top three teams had dominated them. Being in first, a fact that thrilled Draco, still wasn't enough because of the whole situation with Ginny. After the last challenge when they pulled ahead in first, the entire team had jumped around together, screaming and shouting with pride and happiness. Draco had the urge to go over and hug Ginny, no matter what the consequences would be, but that Derek kid got there first.

As Derek swept Ginny off her feet, Draco saw her eyes sadden slightly, looking up at Draco and trying to hide what she felt. Draco couldn't understand what her eyes were saying, and when he went to confront her, she was off again, disappearing around a corner.

What was he to do? It had been nearly two months, and Draco was having no luck. Sometimes he got so angry that he wanted to give up, but then he'd close his eyes and imagine kissing Ginny, realizing he couldn't let her go. He'd fight for her until the very end.

Hermione watched as Ginny stayed with Derek, and it killed her to see them together. Looking at Ginny, Hermione could tell that Ginny's heart wasn't in it and that her thoughts were always elsewhere.

"I really like you," Derek murmured in Ginny's ear. They were sprawled on a common room couch on a lazy Saturday. Normally Ginny tried to avoid being alone with Derek, but it was harder and harder for her to avoid him over the last two months.

He kissed her lightly on the lips, making Ginny shudder, but he didn't notice.

"You're so amazing," Derek continued, kissing her cheek. Ginny just sat there. "You're beautiful, and smart, and funny, and Merlin, I can never stop thinking about you!"

Ginny's stomach churned; she wanted to throw up. Lately Derek had taken to complimenting everything about her, making her out to be someone she knew she was not. It made her sick. Derek thought the world of her, when she knew she wasn't all that special.

"You're perfect," Derek finally muttered.

This made Ginny sit up abruptly. Derek looked at her quizzically.

"I'm what?" Ginny asked, abashed.

"I said you're perfect, Gin." Derek moved to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear, but Ginny backed off.

"No one's perfect, Derek," Ginny stated with a shaky voice. "And even if someone was it would certainly not be me."

She moved to get up, but Derek held onto her hand.

"What's wrong, honey?" He asked.

Ginny's stomach churned again, almost feeling the vomit rise in her throat. She didn't know why this was bugging her so much, but the idea that Derek thought she was perfect was unnerving; she couldn't handle it.

He looked at her again, confusion evident on his face, but Ginny only took her hand back, continuing to the portrait hole. I need to get some fresh air Ginny thought.

"Ginny!" He called after her, but she wouldn't listen. "What did I do?"

The last question stopped her in her tracks. She felt a pang of guilt as she realized that she'd been lying to him all along. She didn't like Derek like she thought she had. Ginny turned around slowly, retreating back into the empty common room. She sat Derek down and took a deep breath.

"You're wonderful, Derek," Ginny said sadly. "You've been here for me when I've been down, but there's something that's been bugging me lately."

He looked at her sadly, realization finally hitting his face.

"I just can't do this anymore," Ginny told him with certainty. "I'm sorry," she murmured before running away out the portrait hole and through the many corridors that made up Hogwarts.

And with that, everything between Derek and Ginny was over. It came from nowhere, but Ginny felt like it was the right thing to do. Ginny had no idea what this meant about Draco, but she didn't want to think about it, didn't even want to consider it. In her mind, Draco was still way out of the picture. Like she said before, Draco made things confusing and messy—that was the last thing she needed.

Strolling down the corridors, Ginny saw new posters and bulletins placed up every couple feet or so. She plucked one of the deep purple flyers from the wall and read.

Mini Murder Mystery Masquerade

(MMMM)

The MMMM is the fifth competition in The 10 Challenges.

What is it?

Why a dance, silly!…but with a twist.

When is it?

March 6th

-It's a Masquerade

-Other details to be explained later

(Perk up younger students! You're invited to this one!)

Ginny let the flyer drop. Great, she thought, another dance.

She sadly remembered the last dance she'd gone to. It had been one of the best days of her life; take Christian out of the picture and it was the best day of her life. Ginny sighed wistfully; it didn't matter. No more Draco. No more Draco. No more Draco. Ginny chanted this over and over in her mind, dreading the day of the masquerade.

Draco saw the flyers as soon as they were up. His heart leapt. This could be the chance I've been waiting for! It was too good to be true, but that didn't stop Draco from hoping. On March 6th, the night of the masquerade, Ginny would be his again.
"She just broke up with me," Derek said sadly. He was sitting with a very shocked Dani, explaining the events of the day.

"She did what?" Dani asked incredulously.

Oh no, oh no. This was going all wrong. As protector of her best friend, Dani thought it was her duty to keep Ginny safe and happy, and happy definitely meant to stay away from Draco Malfoy. She would have to do something about this.

"Why do you look at Ginny like that?" Hermione asked Harry one day. The two of them were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, and Ginny was just entering through the portrait hole.

"Huh?"

Hermione smiled a little. Sometimes she would notice Harry watching Ginny when he thought no one was looking. It all began after the whole Christian/Malfoy thing, and Hermione was beginning to think that Harry had some feelings for Ginny.

"Why do you look at Ginny like that?" Hermione repeated, watching Harry blush. He was still looking at her, his eyes never leaving the meek red head.

"I just care about her," he said quickly. "Like a brother, you know?"

"Uh huh," Hermione said sarcastically.

She wasn't an idiot; she could tell that Harry was attracted to Ginny, but she wondered if that was a good thing. On one hand, it meant that Harry could be the answer to Ginny's prayers, sweeping her off her feet and allowing her to forget about Malfoy. On the other hand, it could mean trouble. Hermione wasn't sure how deep Ginny's feelings for Draco went, and if Harry stepped in, then it could seriously mess things up.

"Hi guys," Ginny said a little breathlessly. She sat down next to Harry, and Hermione noticed Harry smiling sweetly at her.

"Hiya, Gin," he replied with a grin that could melt any girl's heart.

"Could I maybe talk to you a bit later Hermione?" Ginny asked quickly. Hermione raised her eyebrows but agreed. After the common room cleared out, Ginny sat next to Hermione, the words already bubbling from her mouth.

"I broke up with Derek," Ginny blurted out.

"Really?"

Ginny nodded.

"I don't know what came over me, but one second he was telling me how perfect and amazing I was, and the next, I was telling him it couldn't work."

The words flew from Ginny's mouth, but she was far from over.

"I guess it just felt wrong to me. Here he was telling me how much he liked me, and I couldn't tell him that I felt the same way. And when he told me he thought I was perfect…" Ginny shuddered. Silence passed over them, and Ginny couldn't get that last thought out of her head. How could someone think she was perfect? She was far from perfect.

"Was Derek okay?" Hermione asked out of politeness.

"Err…I kind of left before he could say anything," Ginny admitted. "Was that wrong of me? I still want to be friends with him, but I just couldn't take it for a second, you know?"

Hermione nodded.

"He'll be fine," she assured the red head. "I think it'll take him a bit. If what you say is true about him caring a lot about you, then it might take longer than you want, but he'll be fine."

Ginny sighed, hoping things would be okay. She enjoyed being friends with Derek, but she knew she didn't want anything more than that.

"So who will you go to the masquerade with then?" Hermione asked, turning the subject in another direction.

"I don't know." Ginny sighed again. "But I think I'm fine going solo. It's supposed to be a challenge for us, so maybe going alone will be a much better option."

Hermione listened to Ginny but was contemplating a different idea. Should she mention Ginny's breakup to Harry? She really didn't want to mess with Ginny's life, but maybe if she just slipped it into a conversation…

Three boys stayed up late one weekday night, realizing that the Mini Murder Mystery Masquerade was only a few days away. All three of them were thinking the same thing: they all wanted to take Ginny Weasley to the masquerade.

Who would ask her first? That was an entire mystery of its own.

A/N: I'm done! Did I leave you hanging? Haha. So I don't know what to make of this chapter…what do you think?

Thanks for all of you who reviewed and demanded that I get this chapter up as soon as possible. You keep me writing!

And I know someone pointed out how often Ginny misses school, so I tried to cover for it in this chapter a little bit, but I may go back and fix the story a little so Ginny isn't always missing classes.

Hope you like this chapter! Read and review por favor!